Conservation Planning
When I was in elementary school, one of the literary selections we studied was Aesop’s Fables. Of course, each fable told a tale with a “moral to the story”, such as the one of the Ant and the Grasshopper. Basically, the ants planned for their future by storing food while the grasshoppers did everything on a daily basis and didn’t save anything for their future. Applying this moral to our human lives can be seen in a variety of situations from budgetary concerns to teaching our children not to waste time. In the world of agriculture, farmers and ranchers can develop a Conservation Plan to help provide for the future.
Today’s farmers and ranchers are faced with providing food to a growing population with fewer farmable acres, less fresh water, and climate change. Producers understand that the future of our world is rooted in improving and sustaining the health and function of our natural resources. How do we increase productivity, protect wildlife and pollinator habitat, and improve soil and water conditions while still providing for the livelihood of agricultural producers? One way to accomplish this is by constructing a high-quality conservation plan that can provide step by step recommendations to improve habitat, soil health, manage pests and reduce energy use while improving profitability.
Hugh Hammond Bennett, the first Chief of the Soil Conservation Service which is now known as the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), was able to get the attention of the United States government concerning conservation of our natural resources because of the plight of the farmers during our Dust Bowl. When the massive dust storm in 1935 literary blew the soil into Washington D. C. , the government took notice. By the end of that year Mr. Bennett was able to convince Congress and the USDA that the farmers could protect their land through a series of conservation practices. He recognized that every acre is unique and deserving of a tailored management plan developed by a soil conservationist. He stressed that conservation plans belonged to the landowner, not the conservationist, and therefore should be created and implemented in partnership with the landowners. Unless the plans can be translated into action the plan is meaningless. Some communities recognized that what was done on one farm could impact, either positively or negatively, other farms and landowners downstream or in surrounding areas. Farmers began to work with each other to do group planning, becoming more sensitive to the off-site impact of their operations.
Conservation plans may include items such as a land use map, soils information, photos, inventory of resources, economic costs and benefits, schedule of recommended practices, maintenance schedule and engineering notes all based on the producer’s needs and goals. A nine-step planning process to provide the assistance and to develop a conservation plan is followed. First, the initial opportunities and problems are identified while working with the land user. Once the land user has identified their objectives the planner can guide the process to include their needs and values, the resource uses, and on-site/off-site ecological protection. Next the natural resource, economic, and social information for the planning area is collected to further define problems and opportunities, develop alternatives, and evaluate the plan. The fourth step allows the planner to study the resource data and define existing conditions for all the identified natural resources, including limitation and potentials for the desired use. Then alternatives are formulated to achieve the objectives, solve identified concerns, and take advantage of opportunities to improve and/or protect resource conditions. Next alternatives are evaluated, then the land user selects the alternatives and works with the planner on practice implementation. The eighth step has the land user implementing the alternatives with the planner providing the land manager with detailed practice implementation information. Finally, the planner evaluates the effectiveness of the plan in solving the resource concerns and works with the land user to make adjustments as needed to the plan.
The future of conservation planning combines the best of Mr. Bennett’s planning concepts with today’s technology and knowledge of protecting our natural
resources. The employees of NRCS provide a critical role in protecting our natural resources. However, they don’t work only from behind a desk. Their work requires them to engage with the landowner/land user, to see firsthand the natural resource challenges and opportunities by walking the land. Natural resources cannot be treated in isolation. One of the ways NRCS and Howard Soil and Water Conservation District (HSWCD) teach local students about our resources is through the acronym SWAPA. It stands for Soil, Water, Air, Plants, and Animals. All are a part of an integrated system with interdependencies. Coordinated action must be focused on watersheds and aquifers. Although good science is a necessary foundation for the voluntary conservation on private land, good leadership is also critical. Federal, state, and local agencies must work with the landowners to achieve desired conservation outcomes. One way to help the landowners is by gathering information about their concerns during annual Local Work Group meetings. These meetings sponsored by the HSWCD provide the NRCS with a snapshot of the local land user’s concerns such as air or water quality. This way the NRCS can help to develop practices to address the concerns. Just as in Aesop’s fable, the ants must work together to provide for their future, so must the landowners and conservationists.
This way future generations can live on this wonderful planet of ours.